As housewarming parties go, this one was a blast.
The Fire topped Columbus 2-0 and clinched a conference title Friday night, all before 30,845 boisterous fans in the team’s first game back at Soldier Field.
The fourth-largest crowd in team history also saw the Fire secure home-field advantage for next month’s Major League Soccer playoffs.
It seemed to go according to the pregame plan.
“As far as building ourselves up to playoff time, this is going to go a long way,” Fire coach Dave Sarachan said. “We’re right on course to keep this thing going, keep the momentum going.”
With the win, the Fire (14-6-8, 50 points) moved ahead of San Jose to claim MLS’ best record and improved its home record to 9-1-4.
Rookie forward Nate Jaqua scored the first goal in new Soldier Field 11 minutes into the contest. Forward Ante Razov sent a feed to a sprinting Jaqua, who lined a successful 12-yard shot that glanced off Crew defender Mike Clark before sailing past goalie Jon Busch.
“The last two games Nate has done a tremendous job competing and working,” Sarachan said. “It’s been difficult for a guy like Nate [to get in games] when he’s behind a guy like Ante and Damani [Ralph], so he’s been patient.”
Razov padded the lead just three minutes into the second half with his 13th goal of the season. Captain Chris Armas set it up with a corner kick, which Razov headed.
Razov, Armas and three other teammates then bolted toward the south stands for an impromptu celebration with fans.
Columbus (8-12-8, 32 points) saw its playoff hopes nearly extinguished. The loss left the Crew four points behind fourth-place New England for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with two games to play, including one more with the East champion Fire.
The Fire was without four players and also had a new backup goalie in rookie Chris Spiteri, who was quickly signed after backup Henry Ring underwent season-ending surgery.
Ralph and midfielder Andy Williams were training with the Jamaican national team this week, while forward Dipsy Selolwane was occupied with the Botswana national squad.
And Friday, MLS suspended midfielder Evan Whitfield for two games after an incident last week with Los Angeles defender Paul Broome.
Whitfield was already suspended for Friday’s game due to excessive penalty points accumulation. Friday’s MLS action leaves him also sidelined for next Saturday’s home game against Colorado and the Oct. 26 season finale at Columbus.
“We were missing a number of players, and we had guys stepping in like Nate [Jaqua] and Logan [Pause] and we’ve got the depth to keep it going,” Sarachan said.
“I’ve said this all year long: We’re as deep as any team in Major League Soccer.”
